Culture and Anarchy

'Themenofculturearethetrueapostlesofequality.'MatthewArnold'sfamousseriesofessays,whichwerefirstpublishedinbookformunderthetitleCultureandAnarchyin1869,debateimportantquestionsaboutthenatureofcultureandsocietythatareasrelevantnowastheyhaveeverbeen.Arnoldseekstofindout'whatculturereallyis,whatgooditcando,whatisourownspecialneedofit'inanageofrapidsocialchangeandincreasingmechanization.Hecontrastsculture,'thestudyofperfection',withanarchy,themoodofunrestanduncertaintythatpervadedmid-VictorianEngland.Howcanindividualsbeeducated,notindoctrinated,andwhatistheroleofthestateindisseminating'sweetnessandlight'?Thiseditionreproducestheoriginalbookversionandenablesreaderstoappreciateitsimmediatehistoricalcontextaswellasthereasonsforitscontinuedimportancetoday,inthefaceofthechallengesofmulti-culturalismandpost-modernism.ABOUTTHESERIES:Forover100yearsOxfordWorld'sClassicshasmadeavailablethewidestrangeofliteraturefromaroundtheglobe.EachaffordablevolumereflectsOxford'scommitmenttoscholarship,providingthemostaccuratetextplusawealthofothervaluablefeatures,includingexpertintroductionsbyleadingauthorities,helpfulnotestoclarifythetext,up-to-datebibliographiesforfurtherstudy,andmuchmore.